


Christmas Miracles

by annie174



Category: Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 18:37:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17085578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annie174/pseuds/annie174
Summary: Logan gets a letter meant for Santa and a whole season of miracles occurs in just a few days! Post MKAT





	Christmas Miracles

**Author's Note:**

> I loved this prompt sooooooo much, kudos to whomever submitted it, thank you! Wishing you all the happiest new year!

“Lunch has arrived,” Logan called as he entered the Mars Investigations office juggling 2 bags of take out, a pile of mail and packages and Pony’s leash.

“Perfect timing,” Mac keyed in a few more things to her computer and stood up stretching her back.

“Tsang’s was mobbed,” Logan noted as he placed the bags on the big side table and looped Pony’s leash instructing her to lay down.

As soon as Pony was about settled, Veronica came out of her office with a greeting and Pony jumped up happy to see her mother.

“Hey girl,” Veronica greeted her, but it was too late, the leash wrapped itself around Logan’s leg and he had to do a little jig to keep from falling, the mail in one hand went scattering across the floor.

“That was graceful,” Mac commented as she started unpacking the food.

“Man’s best friend my ass,” Logan faux-scolded at the dog, but his smile betrayed him as he watched the dog smothering Veronica with affection.

Logan gathered up all the spilled mail, but one envelope caught his eye. It was written in red and green crayon and addressed to Santa.

“What’s that?” Veronica asked as she got the dog settled down and walked over to properly welcome her boyfriend with a kiss.

“Looks,” he snuck one more kiss, “like a letter to Santa got mixed in with your mail.”

“Awwww,” Veronica flipped it over and there was a little picture on the back of the envelope of a reindeer, “I think the post office actually collects these, they might even send a reply.”

“I’ll drop it in a mailbox when I leave,” Logan said and slipped the envelope in his back pocket.

Veronica nodded and grabbed her container of Pad Thai and the carton of spring rolls and headed for the couch. Logan grabbed some soda from the fridge and joined her and Mac.

“How was your morning?” Veronica asked as she slipped off her shoes, curled her legs up on the couch and tucked her toes under his thigh.

“Good, first day of 2 weeks of holiday leave, cannot complain. Pony and I went for a run, I made soup for dinner, did that load of laundry we were going to do last night,” he ticked off.

“What we did last night instead of laundry was more fun,” Veronica pointed her fork at him.

Logan grinned around a mouthful of noodles and Mac rolled her eyes.

“And since dinner is all ready for later, we can do that again when you get home,” he countered as he snagged a spring roll.

“I love when you are on leave,” Veronica wrinkled her nose adorably.

“Can we change the subject before you two forget I am even here,” Mac suggested.

“Sorry, Q, I finished that report. I will do the invoicing this afternoon and then we just have to wrap up the paper work with the court on the Cavanaugh thing and we should be done for the holidays as well.”

“Don’t say that, V, every time you say something like that some last-minute emergency case walks through the door,” Mac cringed as all three of them turned to look at the door expecting the prophecy to come true.

“Not this year, I have my man home, Dad is back to full strength, we have the business back on track – we are all taking a break for the holidays,” Veronica declared.

“Here, here,” Mac raised her Diet Coke in a toast.

“Where is your dad, his curry will get cold?” Logan asked.

“He ran a holiday gift over to Cliff’s.”

“The annual bottle of Scotch?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

Veronica nodded around a mouthful of noodles.

“Speaking of gifts….” Veronica hopped up and grabbed a red envelope from her office, “this is your ‘work’ gift, Mac,” Veronica used air quotes around work to indicate there might be a ‘friend’ gift to come.

“Thanks, boss,” Mac put down her veggies and opened the envelope with a grin. The grin turned to a frown and soon a look of complete confusion.

“Veronica….”

“You deserve it,” Veronica said, expecting the response.

“It’s too much,” Mac shook her head.

“You worked for me for almost a year and I barely was able to pay you, you deserve it,” Veronica’s voice indicated that was the end of the conversation and Mac gave her a small smile and slipped the envelope on to the table.

Logan just watched the two women with interest. Money was never easy for them and he hated that, but Veronica had worked hard to make the business a success these past couple years and he knew how happy she was to give Mac a sizeable bonus, she was their only employee at MI, after all.

Pony looked up as Keith entered the office, “did I miss the holiday party?”

“Take out Thai on a Thursday afternoon is hardly a party,” Veronica scoffed, “but I gave Mac her bonus.”

“Without me?” Keith sighed.

“Your Scotch delivery trips to Cliff’s often take a long time,” Veronica shrugged.

“He actually had a client in the office, so it was just a drop off. He said he was coming to Christmas Eve though,” Keith informed as he grabbed some water and joined them for lunch, “Merry Christmas, Mac,” he kissed her cheek and she blushed.

“Thanks, Keith. For everything.”

After lunch, Logan took the dog and headed home so Veronica could focus on her end of year tasks and close the office for the next 2 weeks.

He put the soup on to warm up about a half hour before he expected Veronica, threw together a quick salad and fed the dog. He was leaning against the counter watching Pony chow down when Veronica arrived home, a bottle of wine in hand.

“I felt like I had to contribute to dinner in some capacity,” she chuckled as Logan found the corkscrew and poured them each a glass.

Veronica led him to the couch and she flipped on the lights of their Christmas tree before joining him, his arm curling around her shoulder, her head finding a spot in the crook of his neck, kissing the warm skin there.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said as she snuggled closer and sipped her wine.

“Finally, a Christmas together,” Logan agreed. In the three years they had been together this time he had been away for Christmas the first two years.

“I love Christmas, I always have, but this one…” she paused for a second, “this one is special, Logan,” she looked at him, his eyes as sparkly as the Christmas lights.

The dog, having no sense of a moment happening in the living room announced her need to go outside.

“I’ll take the dog if you set the table,” Logan kissed her again.

“Deal,” she stood and took his wine with hers to the kitchen.

After dinner it took very little convincing to lure Veronica into the bath tub and their bed, a languid vacation vibe wrapping itself around both of them as they took their time touching and tasting each other for hours. Veronica finally fell asleep and Logan got up to check on the dog and pick up their strewn clothes. 

It was when he shook out his jeans that the letter to Santa fluttered to the floor. He had forgotten all about it.

Finding Pony bedded down for the night and the tree still lit, he sat on the couch and opened the envelope. He read the letter twice, folded it back up and made a decision.

When Veronica woke the next morning, naked and relaxed, she found the other side of the bed cold. She knew Logan came to bed, she felt him pull her close and spoon against her bare back, but he was clearly already up.

She could smell coffee and toast, so she slipped on one of Logan’s tee shirts and went in search of her man.

“I thought vacation meant sleeping past seven?”

“I didn’t sleep that well,” Logan admitted.

“You feel OK? There’s a bug going around,” she kissed his forehead and found it cool and dry.

“I’m fine,” he smiled and tilted his head to intercept her lips, “it’s this,” he pointed to the letter on the table in front of him.

“Is that the letter to Santa? From yesterday?”

“Veronica, I need your help.”

Veronica’s eyes went wide at the familiar words.

“I know you are on vacation, but maybe we could do a little off-the-clock sleuthing?” he cringed.

“I need coffee,” Veronica blew out a confused breath and turned on her heel.

“I just. I can’t stop thinking about this letter. Sit here, read it over and I will fix your coffee,” Logan hopped up and pulled out her chair.

Veronica lifted the piece of paper, torn from a spiral notebook and written in shaky pencil.

Dear Santa,  
My name is Tommy and I have never written to you before, but this year I have been extra good. I try hard not to make my daddy mad, but he left anyway.  
I don’t want anything really, just for my mom to stop crying.  
Some kids at school say you are fake, but I hope you are real and make wishes come true.  
Tommy Grossman

Veronica took a deep breath and ran her hands over her face. She had a new case.

“Hey,” Logan said softly from behind her and she turned her head over her shoulder and smiled softly at him.

Veronica stood up and took the coffee from him placing it on the table and slipping in to his arms.

“You’ll help?”

“Of course I will,” she murmured against his chest.

Logan squeezed her tighter and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you,” he said easily.

After a quick breakfast, Veronica pulled out her computer and did a few searches. There were 3 birth records in a 20-mile radius for a Thomas Grossman aged 5 – 10. Veronica printed out the 3 addresses and packed some snacks, put Pony on a leash and joined Logan in the car.

“I know this isn’t how you wanted to spend the first day of our vacation,” Logan gave her sweeter eyes than their dogs.

“And I know why this is so important to you. We’ll make a day of it, there is a boutique near one of these places that I wanted to go to get a gift for Dad’s girlfriend and we can have lunch at that Mexican place we like by El Dorado,” Veronica smiled and put on her seatbelt.

The first house was definitely not the right one, Veronica was certain the happy family she saw loading wrapped gifts in to the back of an SUV, a cute little boy around 6 being helped by a mom obviously pregnant again and a smiling doting dad who helped the mom into the car and kissed her forehead.

The second house seemed to be occupied by an elderly couple and after some additional research Veronica found that the house had recently been sold and the Grossman family in question moved to New Mexico.

Logan pulled in to the Mexican restaurant and they were able to get a table out back on the patio where the dog could sit in the shade with a bowl of water.

“Maybe this is stupid,” Logan broke a tortilla chip into pieces.

“There is still one house left,” Veronica reached over to still his hands.

“What will we even find? What can we actually do?” Logan scoffed at himself.

“I don’t know, but it is worth following through. Maybe there will be a sign.”

There was a sign, Veronica was right about that, it said “foreclosed” and as they approached Veronica saw Logan sit up straighter. The house was small, in need of some repair and there was no indication that anyone was home. Veronica gave a stern look that said “let the professional handle this” as she slipped out of the car, he nodded his understanding and kept the car running across the street. 

The neighborhood was quiet, Veronica didn’t see anyone outside in the middle of the afternoon on a week day. She stopped at the mailbox and found a catalog and a couple of credit card bills with “final notice” stamped on them addressed to Emma Grossman and one flyer addressed to Jeff Grossman.

Taking her surroundings in again she moved to the side of the house and peered in a window, moved to the back and came back around the other side. Logan breathed easier when she was back on the sidewalk and out of the yard.

“I think this is the place,” Veronica said as she closed the door to the car.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I peaked in the back window and there was a kid’s desk, a notebook and the same stickers from the letter.”

“Wow, you are good at your job,” Logan chuckled.

“I just looked in a window, this kid isn’t a master con artist or anything,” Veronica brushed off the compliment.

As she pulled her hair back in to a ponytail, a car passed them and pulled in to the driveway.

“Pony, want to take a walk?” the dog sat up and Logan looked puzzled.

“Follow my lead,” Veronica instructed, and Logan unfolded his tall frame from the car as he secured Pony’s leash.

“What is it girl? What is it?” Veronica riled up the dog so she was yapping and hopping around, making a bit of a scene and sure enough she heard a little voice say…

“Mom look a dog!” and soon a little red-headed boy was coming towards them.

“Tommy, wait,” a woman in hospital scrubs followed him as he stopped at the end of the driveway.

Veronica raised a hand in a wave.

“Hi! Sorry, the dog was getting antsy in the car, I thought she needed a bathroom break, but she seems to just want to run around,” Veronica smiled at the woman.

“She’s cute, what’s her name?” the boy asked as he looked to his mom for permission to talk to the strange lady.

“Pony,” Veronica said, and the dog tilted her head in recognition.

“That’s a funny name for a dog,” the kid’s brow furrowed.

“I agree, but it stuck,” Logan smiled, “you can pet her, she’s friendly.”

Another look at his mom who nodded, and Tommy moved closer.

“Hey, Pony,” he said as he held out his hand to be sniffed.

Pony was a good girl and nuzzled his hand and allowed some petting.

“We should go,” Veronica said after a few minutes when she saw Logan looking at Tommy with sadness in his eyes.

“Yes, we have to get Pony home for dinner. It was nice to meet you Tommy,” Logan smiled and then nodded at the mother before leading Veronica and the dog back to the car.

When they were inside, and Pony was curled in the back, Logan turned to Veronica.

“What do we do?”

Veronica leaned in and kissed him softly.

“I’ll call in our usual, we’ll work over lasagna,” she patted his cheek.

He just nodded and started the car, pulling away from the curb.

***555***

“OK, Josie is in,” Veronica said as she came out of the bedroom with her cell phone in hand.

Logan looked up from his Amazon cart at the mention of the real estate lawyer that Veronica met in law school.

“The mortgage was brokered under the Prime Lending catastrophe, they are eligible for a review and reduction in their interest. They only need $7500 to come due,” Veronica looked at her notes.

“Done,” Logan nodded.

“You sure? I know this is getting to you, like right in the feels, but you don’t know these people, Logan?”

“It’s not a lot of money to me, to us now, it won’t impact our lives at all and it will completely change theirs. I got that letter for some reason and I can’t not do this for that kid,” he said, not defensively but definitively.

“OK, we’ll call the bank tomorrow morning and then Josie will reach out to Mrs. Grossman and help her get refinanced in the afternoon.”

“How much is left on the whole house?” Logan asked casually.

“You are not buying the Grossmans a house before you buy us one,” Veronica laughed.

“You want a house?” Logan’s eyes went wide, “like a real house with a yard and room for kids?”

“Let’s not get distracted here, what are we buying Tommy?” she reached for his laptop, but he intercepted her and hugged her tight.

“You want to shack up with me,” he grinned as he dove in to kiss her neck.

“I am very fond of how you fold towels,” she admitted grudgingly as she bent her neck to allow for more kissing.

“You know the best part of Amazon?”

Veronica looked at him strangely.

“They are open 24 hours, we can do this later,” he closed the lid of his computer and pulled her up and threw her over his shoulder as he headed back to the bedroom.

The sex was fun and silly with giggles and long intoxicating kisses and when Veronica rolled off of him she patted him on the chest.

“Thanks, champ,” she joked.

“I like holly jolly elf Veronica,” he pinched her side.

“Go get your computer and we’ll buy Tommy and Emma some presents,” Veronica nudged him with her toes, “ooooh and get the brownies I bought at Lucille’s!”

Logan stopped to put on some boxers, which earned him a pout from Veronica, and proceeded to gather everything they needed and then some. He made 2 trips, one with laptop and his phone and one with brownies and big cold glasses of milk.

“Did you give Pony a carrot?” Veronica chuckled.

“Huh?”

“She’s our reindeer,” Veronica indicated he should be following along.

“I am not tying a branch to her head like the Grinch does to poor sweet Max,” Logan pointed a stern finger and for a second he had the silly insouciance of his youth and it made Veronica’s heart flutter.

“Get naked again and join me in bed please,” Veronica instructed as she woke up Logan’s laptop and scrolled through his cart.

“Who’s this for?” she pointed to something way too complicated for a child.

“Mac, she mentioned it one night at dinner,” he said as she opened the bag of salted caramel brownies.

“Nice, way to pay attention, buddy.”

“I Googled top toys for ages 7-9 and put some of the top reviewed items in the cart, but I have no idea what to get Emma,” he said as he broke off a piece of ooey gooey heaven.

“She’s a busy single mom, I’ll finder her a nice planner, some bath stuff, a vibrator…”

Logan choked a little on his brownie.

“OK, maybe not that last one, a woman really should pick out her own,” Veronica chomped down on her own brownie.

“Pony isn’t the reindeer, you my dear are the reindeer, specifically Vixen,” Logan leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder.

“Har har,” she smiled.

“Can we get Legos?” Logan asked with glee.

“Babe, this is your Christmas miracle, we can get whatever you want.”

“I always wanted Legos.”

“You never had Legos?” Veronica puzzled.

Logan just shook his head.

“I read they are giving money to the Sesame Street refugee program too, on NPR in the car, I heard that,” he was oddly inarticulate.

“Why did you never have Legos?” Veronica knew Logan’s family could buy anything, so something as innocuous as Legos seemed odd.

“They were messy,” was all he said.

Veronica put the brownies aside and crawled in to his lap, wrapped her arms around him.

“What kind of Legos did you want?” she whispered in his ear.

“Star Wars,” he admitted, “the Millennium Falcon specifically.”

“When I looked in Tommy’s window, he had a Darth Vader alarm clock.”

“Really?” Logan said as he searched for the classic set.

“Get two, I’ll help you put it together,” Veronica stayed in his lap as they added some remote-controlled cars, a handheld gaming system and some games and a bunch of board games and books in their cart.

Veronica added some things for Emma too.

“I want to get her a gift certificate for Lila’s,” Veronica mentioned the salon where she sometimes got her nails done.

“Thanks for doing this with me,” Logan said after he submitted the order for overnight delivery to their apartment.

“I’ve never had many people to buy for at Christmas, so I always did Toys for Tots or picked a name off a charity tree, this is just that on steroids. Christmas is a season for giving, I love doing this with you,” she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him chastely.

***555***

Veronica and Logan spent Christmas Eve at Keith’s eating lasagna and visiting with Cliff, Wallace, Mac, Keith’s girlfriend Yvonne and even new Sheriff Marcia Langdon.

“Sure you kids don’t want to spend the night? I can make up the couch for Logan,” Keith teased as they gathered their coats.

“Pony would be sad, and I want to sleep in the same bed as my boyfriend,” Keith wrinkled his nose as Veronica kissed his cheek.

“Three tomorrow?” Keith asked as he patted Logan on the back.

“Yep, wear your comfy clothes, the food will be fancy but its just us, so don’t dress up.”

“Pajamas it is!”

“See you tomorrow,” Veronica smiled.

“Merry Christmas, sweetie.”

“You too, dad.”

Veronica was quiet as they pulled away from Keith’s.

“I want you to know something,” she said in the security of the dark car, “I love you and I would be in love with you regardless, but you saved him Logan, you saved my dad and I will never stop being grateful for that.”

“Christmas is your kryptonite, isn’t it?” he said with a smile.

“A little bit,” she admitted.

“I am so glad your father is here with you, with us.”

“What time do you want to head over to the Grossmans?”

All the gifts had arrived the day before and Veronica battled the crowd at Target to get wrapping paper and bows. They had stayed up late wrapping gifts and laughing at Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation.

“I was thinking 0400 should be safe.”

“So early….” she whined half-heartedly.

“I will make it up to you,” he slid a hand along her thigh.

“Eyes on the road, mister,” she admonished with a grin.

***555***

The alarm sounded louder than normal at 3:45 am and Veronica was surprised to find Logan’s side of the bed cold. As soon as she silenced the beast on the bedside table he appeared, as if by magic, with a cup of coffee for her and a big smile.

“Car is all packed up. It’s a little chilly so put on… clothes,” he admired the creamy white skin he could see peaking out of the duvet.

“How are you so energetic this early?” she frowned and sipped the coffee.

“Military life trains you for all manner of things, this is honestly the most pleasant reason to wake up before the sun I can remember,” he was nearly bouncing.

“OK, I am up, but you better have meant what you said about making this early wake up call up to me later,” she slid out of the bed and shivered in the cool room, her naked skin puckering with goosebumps.

“I think you will be pleased with your reward for your efforts,” he waggled his eyebrows.

She just tossed him a smile over her shoulder and retreated to the bathroom. Ten minutes later with more coffee in hand they were headed across town to the Grossman’s house. Veronica and Logan had noticed the little house had a screened in front porch that likely had little or no lock on it and they were planning to put all the gifts there.

Logan had written a reply letter from Santa they would slip through the mail slot. It was big and bright and should alert the homeowners of the bounty outside.

Logan hummed a vaguely Christmas tune as they drove, and Veronica curled in to her seat and watched this man she had known for so long, loving the peace and happiness on his often-troubled face.

“I love how excited you are,” she finally said.

“I am excited, but not just for this. I am excited for us, for our life, for our adventures,” he reached over and squeezed her hand, warm from the coffee she held.

They pulled up to the curb and the neighborhood was dark. Veronica did a little scouting to make sure no one was out walking their dog or stumbling home from a late Christmas Eve outing.

When she felt the coast was clear, she and Logan unpacked the car and crept to the porch. Both bedrooms were in the back and she hoped the old porch wasn’t too creaky. They arranged the gifts and the bicycle Logan insisted Tommy would love on the porch and headed back to the car.

“The letter,” Logan whispered frantically. His perfect plan hinged on that letter from Santa, he walked back to the porch.

As he leaned over to slip the note through the slot, the door opened and there stood Emma Grossman.

“What are you??? Who are you??” she whispered as to not wake her son, “Wait, you’re the guy with the dog with the weird name – Horsey or something?”

“Pony,” Logan corrected as he stood, “I’m Logan.”

“Echolls, right, I know. I recognized you that day. I loved your mom’s movies when I was younger,” she smiled nostalgically and so did Logan.

“What’s going on here?” she started to notice the abundance of presents.

“Tommy wrote a letter to Santa and somehow I got it in the mail. Well, I decided to be Santa,” he shrugged and handed over the letter he had written in return.

Dear Tommy,  
I was so happy to receive your letter. I know what a good boy you’ve been this year, even when things seem hard. Since you didn’t ask for anything specific, I might have ordered too much from the elves, so I had to leave it all out on the porch to get to the next house in time.  
I hope you like it!  
Santa

“He didn’t ask for anything?” Emma looked up sadly.

“Just for you to be happy,” Logan admitted.

“I’m sorry. This is way too much though,” she seemed flustered.

“We were happy to do it,” Logan smiled.

“At least come in, your wife is in the car?” Emma looked past him to see a concerned Veronica watching.

“My girlfriend yes, but it’s so early and we really want Tommy to believe in Santa and Christmas,” Logan handed the letter back over to her.

“My mortgage, did you do that too?” she said suddenly, “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call. Like, I literally didn’t believe it and had to call my lawyer, but that was you too?”

“Christmas miracles aren’t just for children. Good luck, Mrs. Grossman, I hope you have many more happy holidays in your home,” and with that Logan jogged down the steps and over to the car.

“Everything OK?” Veronica pounced.

“Everything is fantastic,” Logan kissed her cheek and headed back to the apartment.

***555***  
Veronica was rarely surprised, she was a PI after all and pulling one over on her was quite a feat, so she really had to catch her breath when they got home. The apartment was dimly lit, the tree on and a few electric candles, there were presents under the tree that had not been there when they left, so beautifully wrapped they must have been done by an actual artist.

The mess they had left behind in their hurry to get to Tommy’s was nowhere to be found and as Logan wrapped an arm around her, he indicated a very strategic piece of mistletoe high enough that even their intrepid dog could not get to it.

“I didn’t want you to think I was using all my Christmas magic for Tommy,” he kissed her tenderly, so tenderly it almost made her teeth ache with the sweetness.

“Who did this?” she looked at the gifts and smelled warm cinnamon coming from the kitchen.

“Santa,” he shrugged, “who else?”

“Logan?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Mac, it was Mac,” he confessed, “I told her what we were doing, and she offered to help me surprise you too.”

“Did she cook?” Veronica followed her nose.

“Your dad bought the fancy Cinnamon Rolls you love, and I smuggled them home last night, she popped them in the oven 20 minutes ago and made fresh coffee,” Logan discovered a full pot.

“I’m speechless,” Veronica surrendered and sank down on a chair at the island in the kitchen.

“You surprise and delight me every day, Veronica, this was the least I could do.”

“I love you,” she leaned up enough to kiss him as he met her half way.

“See, surprised and delighted,” he pointed to his face.

The buzzer sounded for the cinnamon rolls breaking the kiss and leaving Veronica craving more than breakfast.

“Those probably need to cool,” she noted as Logan moved them to a cooling rack high enough the dog wouldn’t be able to gobble them up.

“Then what would you like to unwrap while we wait?” he said as he somehow made removing an oven mitt sexy.

Veronica launched herself at him and he caught her with practiced ease, her legs wrapping tight around his body and her fingers scraping through his short hair.

Logan made to leave the kitchen and Veronica growled.

“OK, here works too,” he smiled as he perched her on the edge of the island and worked her pants off, her shoes clattering to the floor sounded loud in the quiet apartment and they both turned to see if Pony would come running.

When she didn’t, he got his own pants off just enough for their needs and held her close as he joined their bodies together, felt her breath hitch as he moved just right.

“Mmmm, right there,” she keened as he set a perfect rhythm for both of them.

“I need..” he stopped to breathe through his nose, “I need…”

“Whatever you need, babe,” she stroked his hair and hung on as he sped up, taking her with him as he came.

“Is there icing for the cinnamon buns?” Veronica asked while Logan was still trying to catch his breath and he laughed.

“At least I know sex comes before baked goods,” he kissed her neck.

“Most days,” she corrected.

Logan warmed up the icing in the microwave as Veronica poured coffee and they brought their feast over to the tree.

“Cinnamon Rolls, presents and then sleep for a couple hours?” she asked.

“What time do you need to start cooking?” he picked up a package from the tree and brought it over.

“Eleven or so,” she shrugged, “it’s just us and dad, no big deal if dinner is a little late.”

“It’ll be a big deal if he thinks we were fooling around instead of cooking.”

“Little does he know, we are perfectly capable of doing both,” Veronica placed the coffee on the coffee table and then retreated to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“Presents! I got you some too you know,” she laughed and returned with a smaller and less ornately wrapped pile.

“I thought those were for your dad,” he frowned.

“That’s what I told you so you wouldn’t snoop. Dad’s getting that weekend in Vegas we bought and a few sets of Padres tickets, oh and a garden gnome that is under the bed.”

“There is a garden gnome under our bed?”

“Yes,” she nodded and dove in to the cinnamon buns, slathering one in icing.

They opened presents, funny and thoughtful gifts as well as everyday necessities like pajamas and socks. There were new toys for Pony and more Legos for Logan. Logan booked 3 days in Cabo over New Year’s and bought Veronica a very small bikini to bring on the trip.

“What’s in that big box?” Veronica eyed it with suspicion.

“That? That’s an Instant Pot, the big one not the puny one,” he noted as he heaved it up on the table.

“Oh,” she said, sounding disappointed despite having shown great interest in the new gadget.

“Did you think it might be this?” he held up his hand with a diamond ring sparkling on his pinkie finger.

“I did actually,” she nodded as she half laughed and half cried.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted one of these, but I knew you wanted one of those,” he pointed to the half-opened Instant Pot.

“What changed your mind?”

“Nothing. I’m still not sure you want it and it’s right here in front of you,” he smiled softly, “but I want you to have it. I want everything it stands for and I want every Christmas to be as magical as this one has been.”

“Yeah,” her voice was raspy now, the tears threatening, “me too.”

***555***

When Keith rang the doorbell, Veronica was making gravy which required concentration and constant stirring, so Logan corralled an over-excited Pony and let Keith in to the apartment.

“I come bearing wine and cake,” he declared as he juggled those and a few presents.

“Let me help,” Logan took the small pile of gifts and noticed there was one for him and it delighted him so much.

Logan put the gifts under the tree while Keith moved over to the kitchen to put the dessert and wine down.

“You brought presents?” Veronica asked.

“It’s Christmas,” Keith looked at her funny.

“Well, all I got for you is a future son-in-law,” she held up her hand and Logan rolled his eyes.

“OK, all Logan got for you was the gift of himself,” she chuckled.

“Is this for real?” he asked, and she nodded, “I’m so happy for you sweetheart,” he hugged Veronica who dramatically widened her eyes for Logan’s benefit.

“Congratulations, Logan,” Keith shook his hand and Logan just grinned.

“Thank you, Keith,” he finally spoke.

“This is exciting wonderful news, let’s have a toast,” Keith opened the wine while Logan procured glasses.

“Are you really happy or is this some sort of slow stroke I should be concerned about?” Veronica asked cautiously.

“Honey, I have not seen you as happy as you have been these past couple years, ever. Whatever you two went through when you were younger, you are past that, this is good, you are good together and I am nothing but happy,” Keith assured them both.

“Look at that babe,” Veronica said raising her glass, “another Christmas miracle.”

The End


End file.
